Richard Thompson - Hand of Kindness

By Sam Sutherland

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Richard Thompson and then-wife Linda
had achieved a cruel victory with their final album together, Shoot Out
the Lights, a riveting classic drawing much of its power from frank
allusions to their disintegrating marriage. That preoccupation with the
Thompsons' personal history may explain why at the time fans scrutinized
the first Thompson solo album after the breakup, 1983's Hand of
Darkness, for fresh wounds ("A Poisoned Heart and a Twisted
Memory") and new evidence ("Tear Stained Letter"). Fans
thus missed a more fundamental issue--the de facto reunion of Thompson's
first band, Fairport Convention, with Fairport's original producer Joe
Boyd at the controls. Only violinist Dave Swarbrick is missing, with Simon
Nicol, Dave Peggs, and Dave Mattacks all present and accounted for,
augmented by twin saxes, John Kirkpatrick's always-evocative accordion,
and Clive Gregson's, John Hiatt's, and Bobby King's vocals. Hardly
surprising, then, that this set should hold up so well, or that its nine
solid Thompson originals should be so fully realized.